Maybe I should send it again?

September 19, 2003

Mr. Stephen Harper, MP

Office of the Leader of the Opposition

House of Commons

Ottawa, ON  K1A 0A6

Mr. Harper:

Your recently received mailbox stuffer “Stop Patronage” is rather disgusting.  Please stop acting like a sanctimonious twit.  When the Reform Party of Canada was founded, it promised to stay above stupid politics.  Did the birth of Canadian Alliance Party mean that promise no longer holds, as it now seems to be as bad as the rest of them?  

I do not know Hal Singleton and never heard of him.  I too believe qualified people should be appointed to government boards and agencies.  The fact he lost two elections as a Liberal candidate is irrelevant to his abilities to do the job he has been appointed to on the Veterans Review and Appeal Board.  What are his qualifications compared to the requirements of the job or do you even know?  “Making over $85,000 per year” is no sin; in fact it is a medium-high white-collar salary.

I have a few other comments to make while I am at it.  

Please separate religion and state.  Marriage as defined by the state and marriage as defined by religious organizations are two different things.  One is administrative and one is theology.  Do not confuse them.  I strongly agree with same sex marriages on a CIVIL basis SO LONG AS no religious organization is FORCED to recognize them or perform them.

Prostitution should be legalized and regulated.  I do NOT agree with the sale of sex but since it is the world’s oldest profession, our current approach obviously has not worked and benefits only  police, pimps, politicians and preachers.  It leaves the women totally defenseless.  They should be our concern.

Decriminalization of Marijuana is just the first step.  It should be legalized and regulated.  Safe houses and needle exchanges should be provided for hard drug users and possibly hard drugs should be provided free to confirmed addicts.  I do NOT believe in recreational drug use.  However, the so-called War on Drugs does not work and benefits only police, pushers, politicians and preachers, all of whom have a vested interest in and benefit from the continued illegality of drugs. 

At the same time, Canada must provide other opportunities than growing illicit drugs to farmers in countries such as Columbia and Afghanistan.  This means putting some real efforts into global development.  Forcing the EU and USA into abandoning agricultural subsidies would do more than anything else to help the developing world.  I am a firm believer in the benefits of Free Trade and Globalization to developing countries but it must be free, level and transparent.

Thank you for the opportunity to voice my concerns and may I assure you that the Canadian Alliance Party (aka the Canadian Taliban Party “A burka for every woman and an AK47 for every man”) may NOT count on my support in any upcoming elections.

Yours sincerely,